http://cf.valleywater.org/Water/Where_Your_Water_Comes_From/Water%20Supply%20and%20Infrastructure%20Planning/Climate%20Change/portal.cfm New reports and technical literature on climate change and water resources. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:58:00 GMT http://water.epa.gov/scitech/climatechange/upload/FINAL-Highlights_of_Progress_Factsheets_2010_2011.pdf Summary of EPA's efforts to work with the water sector to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Includes many links to more information on EPA's web sites. (United States. Environmental Protection Agency) Published: January 20, 2012 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-6584.2011.00800.x/abstract "This study presents a method to assess the contributions of 21st-century sea-level rise and groundwater extraction to sea water intrusion in coastal aquifers. Sea water intrusion is represented by the landward advance of the 10,000 mg/L iso-salinity line, a concentration of dissolved salts that renders groundwater unsuitable for human use. A mathematical formulation of the resolution of sea water intrusion among its causes was quantified via numerical simulation under scenarios of change in groundwater extraction and sea-level rise in the 21st century. The developed method is illustrated with simulations of sea water intrusion in the Seaside Area sub-basin near the City of Monterey, California (USA), where predictions of mean sea-level rise through the early 21st century range from 0.10 to 0.90 m due to increasing global mean surface temperature. The modeling simulation was carried out with a state-of-the-art numerical model that accounts for the effects of salinity on groundwater density and can approximate hydrostratigraphic geometry closely. Simulations of sea water intrusion corresponding to various combinations of groundwater extraction and sea-level rise established that groundwater extraction is the predominant driver of sea water intrusion in the study aquifer. The method presented in this work is applicable to coastal aquifers under a variety of other scenarios of change not considered in this work. For example, one could resolve what changes in groundwater extraction and/or sea level would cause specified levels of groundwater salinization at strategic locations and times." (Loaiciga, H. A., et al., 2012, Ground Water) Published: February 25, 2011 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000 http://www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov "In an unprecedented collaborative effort, federal, state, and tribal partners with input from many other diverse groups from across the nation are working together to develop a common strategy to respond to these challenges. The National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy will provide a unified approach -- reflecting shared principles and science-based practices -- for reducing the negative impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife, plants, and the natural systems upon which they depend." Comment period until March 5, 2012. (United States. Dept. of the Interior) Published: January 20, 2012 Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000 http://ghgdata.epa.gov/ghgp/main.do Track emissions by place, by specific gases, by types of facility, by specific facility. Keywords: ghgdata (United States. Environmental Protection Agency) Published: January 11, 2012 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000 http://escholarship.org/uc/item/8j20685w "Climate change will affect tidal wetlands with higher rates of sea-level rise and higher concentrations of salt in brackish and freshwater tidal systems, in addition to causing increases in atmospheric CO2 concentration, warmer temperatures, and shifts in precipitation. In the San Francisco Bay-Delta, the areas most likely to be affected -- brackish and freshwater tidal wetlands -- are also the sites with the majority of endemic plant species and the greater biodiversity and productivity. Effects on the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary are complex and difficult to predict, but a few things are clear. Biodiversity of the tidal wetland system in the San Francisco Bay-Delta region will decline, with subsequent effects on ecosystem functioning and services. Altered plant production, physiological tolerances, and shifts in rates of mortality will modify wetland plant communities in ways not yet predictable. Lower ecosystem productivity from salinity increases will affect both primary and detrital-based food webs. Such changes will cascade via the food webs into invertebrate, bird, and pelagic systems. Tidal wetlands are especially sensitive to processes that climate change will alter. Several of these altered processes are exacerbated by water diversions from the Delta." (Parker, V. T., et al., 2011, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science) Published: December 22, 2011 Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000 http://www.waterrf.org/search/detail.aspx?Type=2&PID=4223&OID=4223 "A compendium of best practices in the energy efficient design and operation of water industry assets. Compile(s) successful strategies to help water utilities reduce energy consumption in water transmission, treatment, storage, and distribution." (Water Research Foundation) Published: December 1, 2011 Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000 http://www.springerlink.com/content/j8062g074571p85k/ "The erosion method relates shoreline change rates to coastal geology then applies changes in total water levels in exceedance of the toe elevation to predict future erosion hazards. Results predict 214 km2 of land eroded by 2100 under a 1.4 m sea level rise scenario." (Revell, D. L., et al., 2011, Climatic Change) Published: December 10, 2011 Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000 http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es203201n "Market-based environmental regulations (e.g., cap and trade, 'payments for ecosystem services') are increasingly common. However, few detailed studies of operating ecosystem markets have lent understanding to how such policies affect incentive structures for improving environmental quality. The largest U.S. market stems from the Clean Water Act provisions requiring ecosystem restoration to offset aquatic ecosystems damaged during development. We describe and test how variations in the rules governing this ecosystem market shift risk between regulators and entrepreneurs to promote ecological restoration. We analyze extensive national scale data to assess how two critical aspects of market structure -- (a) the geographic scale of markets and (b) policies dictating the release of credits -- affect the willingness of entrepreneurs to enter specific markets and produce credits. We find no discernible relationship between policies attempting to ease market entry and either the number of individual producers or total credits produced. Rather, market entry is primarily related to regional geography (the prevalence of aquatic ecosystems) and regional economic growth. Any improvements to policies governing ecosystem markets require explicit evaluation of the interplay between policy and risk elements affecting both regulators and entrepreneurial credit providers. Our findings extend to emerging, regulated ecosystem markets, including proposed carbon offset mechanisms, biodiversity banking, and water quality trading programs." (BenDor, T. K., et al., 2011, Environmental Science and Technology) Published: November 1, 2011 Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000 http://www.springerlink.com/content/q773hv252l138240/ "This study examines the impact of climate change on the terrestrial distribution and the subsequent production and value of two key ecosystem services in California: (1) carbon sequestration and (2) natural (i.e. non-irrigated) forage production for livestock. Under various scenarios of future climate change, we predict that the provision and value of ecosystem services decline under most, but not all, future greenhouse gas trajectories. The predicted changes would result in decreases in the economic output for the state and global economy and illustrate some of the hidden costs of climate change. Since existing information is insufficient to conduct impact analysis across most ecosystem services, a comprehensive research program focused on estimating the impacts of climate change on ecosystem services will be important for understanding, mitigating and adapting to future losses in ecosystem service production and the economic value they provide." (Shaw, M. R., et al., 2011, Climatic Change) Published: November 24, 2011 Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000 http://www.springerlink.com/content/p2451068t7201306/ "We provide here a brief introduction to the papers included in this Special Issue [on California] focusing on how they are coordinated and support each other. We describe the common set of downscaled climate and sea-level rise scenarios used in this assessment that came from six different global climate models (GCMs) run under two greenhouse gas emissions scenarios: B1 (low emissions) and A2 (a medium-high emissions). Recommendations for future state assessments, some of which are being implemented in an on-going new assessment that will be completed in 2012, are offered." (Franco, G., et al., 2011, Climatic Change) Published: December 1, 2011 Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000 http://www.water.ca.gov/climatechange/CCHandbook.cfm "Developed cooperatively by DWR, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Resources Legacy Fund, and The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Climate Change Handbook for Regional Water Planning provides a framework for considering climate change in water management planning. Key decision considerations, resources, tools, and decision options are presented that will guide resource managers and planners as they develop means of adapting their programs to a changing climate. The handbook uses DWR's Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) planning framework as a model into which analysis of climate change impacts and planning for adaptation and mitigation can be integrated." (California. Dept. of Water Resources) Published: December 1, 2011 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000 http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.119-a514 Projected increases in extreme precipitation are causing cities to re-examine their stormwater systems. (Kessler, R., 2011, Environmental Health Perspectives) Published: December 1, 2011 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000 http://www.springerlink.com/content/k453010m16870x34/ "Projections of climate change are inherently uncertain, leading to considerable debate over suitable allowances for future changes such as sea-level rise (an 'allowance' is, in this context, the amount by which something, such as the height of coastal infrastructure, needs to be altered to cope with climate change). Words such as 'plausible' and 'high-end' abound, with little objective or statistically valid support. It is firstly shown that, in cases in which extreme events are modified by an uncertain change in the average (e.g. flooding caused by a rise in mean sea level), it is preferable to base future allowances on estimates of the expected frequency of exceedances rather than on the probability of at least one exceedance. A simple method of determining a future sea-level rise allowance is then derived, based on the projected rise in mean sea level and its uncertainty, and on the variability of present tides and storm surges ('storm tides'). The method preserves the expected frequency of flooding events under a given projection of sea-level rise." (Hunter, J., 2011, Climatic Change) Published: November 23, 2011 Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:00:00 +0000 http://www.springerlink.com/content/321845162646m335/ "This paper explores the independent and combined effects of changes in temperature and runoff volume on California's water supply and potential water management adaptations. Least-cost water supply system adaptation is explored for two climate scenarios: 1) warmer-drier conditions, and 2) warmer conditions without change in total runoff, using the CALVIN economic-engineering optimization model of California's intertied water supply system for 2050 water demands." (Connell-Buck, C. R., et al., 2011, Climatic Change) Published: November 24, 2011 Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:00:00 +0000 http://www.springerlink.com/content/w875013x655j31x7/ "In the next few decades, it is likely that California must face the challenge of coping with increased impacts from extreme events such as heat waves, wildfires, droughts, and floods. This study presents new projections of changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme events in the future across climate models, emissions scenarios, and downscaling methods, and for each California county. Consistent with other projections, this study finds significant increases in the frequency and magnitude of both high maximum and high minimum temperature extremes in many areas." (Mastrandrea, M. D., et al., 2011, Climatic Change) Published: November 24, 2011 Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:00:00 +0000